Far Away Eye's Thinky Thoughts

Another month has gone by and we're ready for another chapter. I felt that in the wake of the messy election we could all have a moment to breathe and read a smexy chapter. Cause, really, I think we need that right about now.

I'm not going to lie. This chapter really doesn't have much actual "plot" but that's not what we're here for this month, right? We need something to drool over, some naughty stuff, something fun and light. And so, here it is.

Another month has flown by and it's that time again. This month we truly start a new arc in the story and start a journey to Ashaba, the House of Torak. Along the way, there's going to be a lot of little moments I've enjoyed adding---some are funny, some are sad. This time, we explore the world through Inuyasha's eyes as they start their long trek north towards great danger. He'll be somewhat surly, somewhat resolved, and focused on getting them there and out of Ashaba in one piece---perhaps with a small respite before they really make their way towards the House. We are talking Inuyasha. He'll pick fights with at least his brother.

I was also lucky enough to receive one of the best reviews Journey's had in years at AFF this past month. I don't know if I or the story live up to all of it but here it is:

I am so very happy to discover you are still writting this story. I started reading it last month and instantly fell in love. It is so beautifully written. The emotions are so raw and real. The characters, settings, struggles and feelings are all described so perfectly that it just seems real. Your story is just so captivating, it draws you in. I did not realize it was an active story. I was completely heart broken when I finished reading chapter 89 and thought it was left there unfinished. I cant even convey to you the joy I felt when I noticed today that there was an 90th chapter. I am so excited to see how things devolope as the story goes on. I have read a lot of fan fiction, but none as dynamic and enchanting as this one. You are truly talented. Thank you for this story.

Thank you, Animotions_of_love for this wonderful comment. To know that anyone finds this story enchanting is perhaps one of the highest compliments. While this story did go dormant for many years, having it back has been a pleasure and sticking to that once a month posting schedule has been a real joy. As much as readers like you may look forward the updates, I look forward to the 17th of every month as Journey Day. I hope you will, too. Thanks again so much for reading.

You read that right. We've now hit the 90th chapter of Journey. It doesn't seem real, but there it is.

This one centers on Miroku and Sango from Sango's POV. I find her perspective rewarding. She's strong, tough, and has incomparable skills in fighting. And yet, Sango is still undeniably a woman. She has never really hidden from that---and I love that often she uses her womanhood as a strength rather than bemoaning it as a weakness or trying to cut it away from herself. That's sometimes the most rewarding aspect of tackling her character. She has to balance that warrior self with that woman self and make this whole person that makes her Sango. I hope that this chapter captured that.

I will warn people, though. There is a trigger warning for discussion of rape in this chapter. I don't normally get worked up about sticky stuff in my writing because I'm hoping those that read are adult enough to handle most of the more adult-themed elements, but this one topic deserves that mention.

Sango and Miroku have a bit of a dicey road ahead of them in the aftermath of what they've been through in the Fall of Mal Yaska, but I think the pay off down the road will be worth the angst and struggle they endure here. This one is a bit more emotional of a chapter, too. Writing this one was equally challenging and satisfying. At times, some of it just wrote itself and I can't necessarily take credit for it. I just hope that you'll enjoy the finished product.

Another month, another chapter. Can you believe we're almost to 90 chapters of this monstrosity? This story has truly flourished in the last year or so since I've picked it back up again.

This chapter lays so much groundwork for things to come, helps tie up some loose ends in other storylines, and gives Kagome a chance to do something rather remarkable. (No, I won't tell you. You just have to read it and find out for yourself.) I am rather proud of how I engineered the ending of this chapter and how this also focuses so much on the bond she shares with Inuyasha, too. They truly feed off of one another's energy and that can come in so many forms. It can show up in that endless bickering they do. It can be in the gentle touches or glances. And sometimes, when we play with some of that what if with the concepts of auras already in the series, we can really play with the bond they share in new and I hope innovative ways.

I hope the fusion of the two universes continues to work well for people in this chapter, too. We have some returns from the field and some characters that haven't interacted in awhile will do so again in this one and in the next few. It's been a delight seeing the two groups truly and finally become one big group in many ways. They're not nearly as separate or as divided as they were in the beginning. Over time, I think those divisions will truly and completely disappear in so many ways---as they should. This chapter also touches on some of those beginnings and will give us lots of groundwork on building that large pack they'll have in the long run.

Without further ado, enjoy. You can find the chapter at MM.orgAFF and AO3.

Another month, another chapter. This month we return to Sesshomaru's POV and the aftermath of what happened with Rin. I admit, I rather broke him emotionally last time so I had to fix that and fast.

One of the joys of writing so far in advance is that I can then tinker with some of the sentences and work on meaning layers rather than posting as I finish and leaving behind some sloppier elements. It's also allowed me to see how my writing has progressed. I hope that is evident in some of these chapters to the reader, too. I'd like to think I'm getting better at this.

I'm also working hard on another chapter for months from now, so there's still that to look forward to. I hope that you'll all still read as we continue on our rather never-ending Journey. (Hmmm. Maybe I should retitle this the Never-Ending Journey as NeverendingStory is already taken, yes?)

It's been another month, and now the next Journey chapter is ready to go live.

In reality, however, it's been another year. Almost a year ago now (give or take ten days), I received a wonderful review from doggieearlover. This review inspired me to pick this story back up and fall in love with it all over again. In the last year, I've done just that and found solace in writing it once more. It's been a journey (pun intended) to get a chapter written for each month of this year and now into next year (we're not there yet on 2017, but we're working on it). I had gotten some sporadic reviews here and there through the years of dormancy, but this one really struck a cord and prodded me to re-read the story. In some ways, it felt foreign as if someone else had written it. I found myself forgetting little details and eager to see where things went. By the end, I had to keep writing because no one else was going to tell this story. And I decided that would be a true shame.

So here's her review from one year go:

I came back and reread this entire fic from the very beginning. Even though I'm no longer writing myself, I have hopes that one day you'll come back and finish this outstanding piece. I still think it's one of the very best, most original and well written pieces of fanfiction I've ever read. The characters are so real and it's near impossible to not get involved in this story. I know how hard it is to come back as I made myself finish my one last unfinished piece. I keep hoping that you will come back and finish this and let us know what happened to everyone, how Rin saves Sesshoumaru and how they defeat Naruku and get back home. I know you had a lot left to write, but am ever hopeful that you will one day complete this story. Otherwise I hope everything is going well in your real life.

I don't know if this story fits all of these high praises. I don't know if it's the best or most original or one of the most well written, even. I don't know if the characters feel that real to anyone else besides me or doggieearlover, but they are still very old friends and getting to know them again is worth it. I love that she wants to see things like Rin saving Sesshomaru. I love that the question of the Inu Gang ever going home remains tantalizing. (Hint, I've known the answer since I started and I'm not telling.) As for completing this story? Well, nothing really ever truly ends, does it? Really, the fact that any single person felt that strongly to reach out after so long---I had to answer. The only way to answer a review like this was to truly sit back down and write more on it.

And so here we are. This month, we're returning to see what is happening with Rin. I'm really proud of this chapter and what it sets up for Rin's future and character in so many ways. This is the chapter that she truly starts to take some real control and shows us her real strength. It was a pleasure to write this one and set her story in full motion for what will happen as we progress further into the world of Eddings and that pesky Journey to the City of Endless Night.

We also get some more insight in on some of our Eddings cast---at least I hope the reader will. It took some memory jogging, but I establish something in this chapter about Belgarath, the unquestioned leader of our band of adventurers. When you get to be 7,000 years old and have put out as many world crises as he has, you get to be defacto in charge rather you want to or not---and believe me, he probably doesn't as he's prone to be a bit lazy (ask his brother, Beldin. Ask Belgarath himself. Laziness is his default, really.) He's a complex fellow with a lot of history and it is really entangled with the foe of this chapter. He's been the extremely powerful sorcerer, the irritated old man, the unquestioned leader, and more. Belgarath has so many hats and he carries them all so well. I feel I captured a few of those roles and some in this one, too. So much of this story focuses on the Inuyasha side, and I like that we see a bit more into the Eddings gang.

That being said, I feel this chapter really gives us some meat and a real growth for Rin that I hope the reader will enjoy as much as I did.

It's that time again. Another month has flown by and we're ready to launch another chapter live! We are totally set for the rest of the year now and should hopefully be able to have enough for next in the near future. Yay for that!

This month, we're visiting Jaken as he deals with the Alorn Council and all its fun politics. It'll probably get a bit loud, a bit testy, and perhaps even slip in some cute. You never know!

Journey and quite a few of my shorts have gotten quite a bit of attention at AO3 lately. That just makes me super excited. It's been amazing that a fandom this age and a story this odd and a bit obscure gets the kind of attention it's getting. In many ways, it's as if I've started Journey all over again and it's so fresh and new for me just as it is for these newer readers. I just hope that I'm still a competent enough writer and that I've improved in the time away for people to want to read more once they reach the end of chapter 86 or beyond!

The review responses for those sites that just don't get 2016 and direct responses (they know who they are MM.org and AFF)

Pysiak: I am so glad you found the story and the world of David Eddings. It's a world I treasure and return to again and again more than any other fantasy series. I'm glad we could share these old friends together. Just check back the 17th of every month for the foreseeable future and you should be able to read more chapters.

Wow does time fly by, eh? It's another month gone by and we're ready to have another Journey chapter post live. In the month since, I've managed to accomplish the goal of finishing another chapter for later in the year. We're also going to have a chapter a month going forward for the remainder of the year. I hope to start plotting out the next year's slate in the near future. That way we may have more than one year's worth to look forward to reading. I'm pleased by this development. I wasn't sure if I'd manage to get a couple of them done in time, but I did. The slate is roughly set in a certain order, so I know what chapter goes live when.

This month, we're seeing what is going on with Koga. He's got his own role to play and it's about time we check in with him again. This chapter was a challenge to write as I had left the wolf demon in the midst of a pickle so to speak. And in the long run, I've kind of put him into an even larger pickle to be honest. You'll see when you read for sure.

Here's the review responses:

Dunkelgelb: Thanks for the review. I must admit I did spend a few years away from it, but now that I'm back to working on it, I'm finding that it's a lot of fun again. I hope you'll enjoy it.

Merely Truth: I'm so glad you found the story back. And you'll have to wait and see just what happens for Sesshomaru and Rin. The poor thing has had his heart broken for the time being, hasn't he?

The latest chapter, Chapter Eighty Five, can be found here: AFFMM.orgAO3

Another month has gone by, and another chapter of Journey is going live. We're really on target for this year's monthly updating. I only have one more chapter to draft from scratch in the posting schedule, and it isn't slated until August/September, so we have time. I'm super pleased by this. It means that you'll get more of the story without it going dormant again for a long period. And really, isn't that what we all want?? I rather look forward to posting once a month, too. It's just something sweet to look forward to.

Eleven years ago today, I started a little fanfic that was solely for my amusement and curiosity. I had read the Belgariad/Malloreon countless times, but when I discovered Inuyasha, I had a crazy idea of meshing the two together. It'd be fun to see the character sets clash, help keep some old friends around well beyond their canon pages, and allow me to practice prose writing and exploring craft while working on other things.

I drifted away for a few years, I'll admit, but now that I'm back writing on this story it's been just as fun as I remember it being when it started. I know. It's really long. We're at Chapter Eighty Three with this installment. That's a lot of fanfic to read for anyone. I'm hopeful, however, that the story still holds some magic and will continue to draw readers old and new alike as we continue posting a monthly installment for at least the remainder of 2016.

Since this chapter is an anniversary special, I debated about which one to choose next. There's an order that must be followed chronologically, of course, but I had a little leeway on which one to pick next. I chose Sesshomaru because this chapter captures a lot of the crossover elements, the emotional turmoil our Demon Lord is about to truly endure, and has quite the cliff hanger. It just seemed like the right choice to post this one next. I hope that you'll enjoy reading it as much as I have writing it. After all, we have left Sesshomaru and Rin in quite the pickle and we need to help get them out of it.

You can find Chapter Eighty Three at MM.org and AFF. I am also still updating on AO3 daily until I run out of chapters to post and they're caught up with both MM.org and AFF.

After the last installment, I did receive a review, so here's that response:

firebird: Thanks for reading this long epic mess. I'm glad you enjoyed it so much and hope you'll like what follows as much. I'm also glad I could introduce you to Eddings and the wonderful world he created in the Belgaraid/Malloreon. I've known Garion an awfully long time, so whenever I renew that relationship it's always nice to hear that others have discovered him, too. I hope to hear from you again! Thanks for reading so much.

And with that, we'll have to wait a whole nother month to see what happenes next.